Vesper Guardian
by Diabolic Night
Summary: This is the tale of the Vesper Guard, a lesser known branch of the Royal Guard dedicated to the Princesses of Equestria and their interests. Sometimes it is better to remain hidden in the shadows, rather than draw attention to your actions. The real question is what happens when you do become the focus of others... even the Princess of the Night. Rated "T" for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1 - The Streets of Phillydelphia

_Author's Note: Hello everyone, I haven't really done this sort of thing in a while so I may be rusty. I had an idea I wanted to get to writing and think it is about time I actually started._

_All constructive criticism is welcome but I'm hopeful that you will enjoy this more than anything else. Without further ado, the introductory chapter of the Vesper Guardian._

**Vesper Guardian**

**Chapter 1**

**The Streets of Phillydelphia**

Phillydelphia was one of the more metropolitan centers of Equestria, yet this very moment could have easily made it seem more like a quiet suburb. Everything was quiet and still, no commotion or traffic to speak of just the gentle sounds of a few hooves clacking along the cobblestone streets.

It was easily another few hours before dawn and the two unicorns walking along one of the city's secluded neighborhoods were slowly making their way towards the edge of town. The pair were an unlikely duo with stark contrasts that immediately made it known they were not related, at least not like blood relatives to say the least.

The first of the unicorns was a male, his fur was an azure blue that seemed almost unnatural in its dazzling brilliance. To the untrained observer it would almost seem like there were flecks of white dispersed throughout the blue coat covering his body but that was only an illusion. This illusion was enhanced mainly due to his gray and white two-tone mane, which seemed to divide the differing colors to his left and right sides, respectively, without crossing over into the other color's side. His eyes were something truly awe-inspiring to those who took the time to look at them, an amber color with deeply orange hues that almost sparkled as they reflected the light from the moon directly ahead of him. He was in his late twenties, at least judging from his appearance and was relatively tall even by unicorn stallion standards.

To his right, walking beside him was a mare unicorn who was keeping pace with his longer strides but she seemed to be straining to keep up. She was easily half his age, maybe in her early teens and seemed to be looking at the male beside her with a deepening and conflicted interest in her emerald eyes. Her coat was a fuchsia color resembling a pinkish purple mix with a mane of deep lavender with one fine teal streak running through the length of the mane. Her cutie mark was a scythe and scimitar crisscrossing with four tiny stars in between each of the intersecting sections, one on the top, bottom, left and right quadrants of the cutie mark.

The male seemed to have already realized that his partner on this long walk wanted to ask something but didn't know if she should interrupt his thoughts. Admittedly he was distracted with the recent events going on throughout Equestria, it just didn't seem normal.

Princess Celestia had been very clear in her orders, go to Phillydelphia and find the reason behind the recent rise in criminal activity which seemed to include everything from arson to theft as well as some petty vandalism. Honestly this seemed like a wild goose chase and far below the normal responsibilities he was generally tasked to handle by the princess. The local law enforcement were more than equipped to deal with items like organized crime in his opinion.

He only agreed to the task at hoof mainly because his new student required some in the field training. Originally, he had vehemently declined to take such a young pony on as a protege but her unyielding resolve and months... and months of determination to gain his acceptance won him over if not begrudgingly so.

The reason behind the recent influx of this new crime wave was, in part, due to an expansion of problems from Manehattan where certain elements had been finding new untouched cities to gain a foothold in untapped resources. Handling this wasn't really a problem for somepony with their set of skills but Princess Celestia did make it clear that they were not to draw attention to themselves, of course this just complicated things.

After a few short weeks or reconnaissance, the two of them had been able to map out the area and pinpoint the leaders of this group of pony thugs. It wasn't really a very big challenge, the term "organized crime" was really being lenient for these stallions. There wasn't a game plan to speak of, just hoodlums looking to make easy bits by terrorizing the city's inhabitants.

Earlier in the evening the two unicorns had gotten the drop on the majority of this gang when they attempted to hold up a charity function involving rich business ponies, being led by none other than Canterlot's elite figurehead and trendsetter Fancypants. It hadn't been an extremely exerting exercise, just a stop and disable tactic before things became out of hand. Between the two of them, they had taken out roughly fifteen to twenty ponies using various arrays of magic and some military style combat training. Afterwards the local Phillydelphia authorities took custody of the rabble-rousers and that was that. Nothing out of hand for their specialties but the male unicorn was still pleased with the results and how far his new student had progressed already.

Finally deciding that the silently waiting mare couldn't be ignored any longer the male was the first to speak. "Scylene, if you have something to ask the direct approach might be the best approach", he stated with a barely noticeable sigh.

"Commander Seraph, why?" Scylene said without any further elaboration.

It was the first time Seraph had turned his head away from the night's sky since their walk to the outskirts of town began that night. He looked at the young mare with his piercing eyes radiating power and an age well beyond what one might think possible from somepony apparently so young... both of them shared this characteristic. As he looked at her, he saw the same forest green aura he has noticed every time he looked at her emanating from Scylene's body.

It was something he could always see when he looked at a pony, a colored aura to indicate personality and emotions radiating from the individual. He wasn't sure why he could see this but it had been apparent early on in his life that this was a unique trait to him alone as far as he knew. The color for unicorns and alicorns that he looked at was generally easy to identify as the colorful hue their horns took when using magic nearly always matched their aura's unique color. Pegasus and Earth ponies were not as simple, they had an aura with specific colors but their lack of magic and horns made sure that only Seraph could identify these traits.

"Scylene, the direct approach doesn't mean you have to be vague. Just asking why doesn't tell me what you want to know." He tried to give her a meaningful look but showed the same caring smile he had shown her after the earlier events that evening seeing to the criminals being subdued and perhaps some pride in his student's talent. "And how many times have I told you to stop saying Commander, it is just Seraph." Scylene still hadn't taken this request for informality well even after the last few months of him reminding her.

"Seraph, why did Celestia send us here... this doesn't seem like a suitable job for the commander of the royal guard." Scylene had gotten to the heart of the matter quicker than Seraph had thought she would have, but he didn't seem to be surprised in the slightest.

In all honesty he had wondered if she was going to ask him about this tonight. "Scylene, you know very well we are not the Royal Guard... we are the Vesper Guard. The Royal Guard protects the "Princess" in a very visible function to display authority." Seraph wanted to make clear use of the term of princess that his student clearly omitted when mentioning Celestia's name earlier without the title.

"And what about us! We protect her too... and her interests." Scylene was a bit impatient with her mentor due to her clear dislike of his play on semantics of the title of the two different guard squads.

Seraph turned back to the moon at this point, which caused Scylene to follow his lead as they continued to walk away from the city and the thinning of houses becoming apparent as they continued.

"You're right Scylene, we do protect everything the Royal Guard does... and more. The difference, is that we do so in a covert manner." Seraph wanted to get this point across, "we stay in the shadows, never being too visible to the population. Equestria doesn't need to know who we are and we don't need accolades to prove our worth.

"If ponies started to focus on us and our role, it would only make it that much more difficult to do our duties to the royal family. Look at the Royal Guard, everyone knows who they are and if one of the uniformed ponies in that guard walks into a crowd everypony knows it. It makes blending in a nightmare, trust me", Seraph stated with an experienced tone that conveyed he knew what he was saying.

Scylene didn't seem fully satisfied with the response and decided to continue the conversation. "Yes, you've told me that we are, and I quote, "the shield and sword of Equestria" but that doesn't explain why we came here for this."

Seraph began to smile inwardly, he was impressed she wasn't being distracted from the original question too easily. For somepony so young, Scylene was remarkably focused and perhaps too perceptive as he thought about it to himself.

"You're right again, Scylene. Princess Celestia's domain is all of Equestria, us protecting Phillydelphia from dangerous elements is one of her interests." Seraph was hoping this would satisfy her for now, it wasn't a lie but it wasn't the whole truth either.

There was one more reason they had come to Phillydelphia and it was Seraph's true ulterior motive, but the zebra's prediction so far had not come to pass during their stay in the metropolitan area. He wondered if this had been a bit of a waste of time as his gaze continued to focus on the moon slowly lowering across the night's sky.

Scylene had, for the moment, let the inquisition drop although she suspected he wasn't telling her everything. This was part of the nature of their relationship, even during training exercises he constantly withheld details from her, forcing her to figure out the subtleties of the lesson on her own. She appreciated this fact to be completely honest, as it showed her that Seraph either had enough faith that she would figure things out on her own or he was intent on watching her learn from her failures as much as her successes. Either way she was content on being his student, his right hoof if you will, which is all she ever wanted since she discovered the existence of the Vesper Guard years ago.

Scylene had been adjusting her gaze between the moon that Seraph had been looking at most of the night and Seraph himself. Then she noticed it, his ears that had been laying flatly against his head most of the night were currently pointing straight up... he was listening for something.

She began to listen for whatever it was that Seraph had honed in on, considering they were outside the city's limits by this point there wasn't too much ambient noise interfering. She heard it, hooves stepping along the ground nearby in a gingerly manner. Whoever they were, they were keeping pace with the two of them but requiring far more steps to keep up than the two of them were actually taking.

Scylene turned to Seraph and said, "Sir, should I handle it?"

Seraph seemed to contemplate her words for a moment, "so you heard it too?" was his only reply.

"Yes, what are your orders?" reminding him about her suggestion.

Before Seraph could respond, the source of the light hooves along the ground had stopped. A small shadowy figure darted out of a bush nearby. Scylene took this as her cue and tackled the figure to the ground immediately, hooves crossed around its neck and her horn was glowing its forest green hue in a threatening manner.

Before she was able to do anything further Scylene had been engulfed by an extremely pale blue aura that could have easily been mistaken for white. Her entire body was lifted off the intruder and she quickly realized it had been Seraph himself that was moving her. Once she had been returned to the ground she turned to Seraph giving him a confused and almost hurt look as though she could not see why he intervened.

Seraph just turned his head toward the figure she had pounced on and Scylene followed suit.

It was a young pegasus colt, no more than 8 years old with a brown coat that had a gray hue and a black mane. The striking characteristic was his eyes, a vibrant blue which seemed quite light compared to his other darker color schemed features.

Seraph spoke up first as the colt got back to his feet. "Forgive my student's rash actions. She is eager to prove herself to me, sometimes she acts on instinct alone. I'll work on honing that skill with her in the future." Scylene felt she was being reprimanded by Seraph indirectly but he wasn't speaking harshly, on the contrary he seemed to be saying it with a caring tone. If anything he was trying to open a dialogue with the young colt.

"My name is Seraph, what's yours... and what are you doing out here at this hour if I may ask?" Seraph had narrowed his eyes slightly to make sure the aura he had been viewing on the colt was accurate. It had been rare for him to see such a bright color almost resembling white on any being before, this child had a white aura with just a hint of yellow shining through. _Rare indeed,_ Seraph thought to himself...

The pegasus colt seemed very calm for such a young one after being assaulted by a mare like Scylene. "My name.. is Nightshade", was the young one's response. "And what are you doing out her at this hour?" He asked of the two unicorns, repeating Seraph's question right back at them.

Seraph saw no point in lying if he was going to get to the bottom of this anyway, after all he and Scylene weren't on confidential business at the moment. "We're just walking to the train station to go home, and what about you Nightshade?" Seraph's tone was kind but this time much more serious implying he wanted the answer he was waiting for. "And where are your parents?"

The last question had a hint of accusation since the colt should not have been out at this late hour in the middle of nowhere and his parents should have been keeping a closer eye on him.

This was the first time Seraph noticed a slightly watery look in the colt's eyes, albeit briefly, as Nightshade quickly refocused his efforts to hide that expression. "I don't... I don't have any... parents." It was soft but clearly audible without any other noises to conflict with out here in the open area they were standing in.

A light breeze was making its way through the air, it was a late Spring morning so the temperature was quite comfortable, unfortunately the conversation was no longer as pleasant. Scylene seemed to lower her jaw slightly and raise her eyebrows in an imperceptive manner while Seraph just nodded slightly. Very little seemed to be surprising him tonight, to be honest not much surprised at all lately.

"I won't ask you what happened to them", Seraph said trying to be kind but still touching on the subject anyway. "Where have you been living?" Now Seraph wanted an answer, there was no way he would leave an orphan on the road alone out here at this time of night.

"Out here... I was in an orphanage until a few weeks ago but the bad ponies came and... burned it down..." Nightshade's response took a moment to settle in. Seraph and Scylene had heard about some of the arson going on in the city but were not aware an orphanage had been destroyed.

"What about the other orphans, where are they... did they make it out safely?" Scylene said, joining in the conversation feeling like she had to ask this for her own conscience.

"Mmm... yeah they made it out ok but everyone was split up to go to new places... I didn't want to go somewhere else again, so I ran away out here." Nightshade looked at the empty area around him to show the two of them where he had been living. Upon a second look, Seraph noticed the malnourished look on the young colt.

"You know we can't leave you out here alone, right?" Seraph's question was more of a statement than anything else. He came to his decision rather quickly about how to handle this... remembering to give the zebra named Zecora his gratitude later for her prediction about the events unfolding at this moment. This would result in far greater implications down the road and he knew it, however there were only a few options available. If Seraph was right then the colt might have heard enough about the Vesper Guard to be a problem for everypony.

Scylene caught on quickly, her eyes widening with an incredulous impression. "You can't be serious... he's half my age!" she exclaimed now looking directly at Seraph. "First that new unicorn brat Twilight Sparkle gets Princess Celestia to notice her and takes her on as her personal student... now you're replacing me with another colt the same age as her too..." Scylene said in a hurt tone as though she thought herself being abandoned, her head now ducking dejectedly towards the ground.

"Who said you were being replaced?" Scylene raised her head in one fluid motion, a look of renewed hope in her eyes after Seraph's last question. There was a pause but Seraph just thought of something Scylene said, "And how do you know Twilight Sparkle is a brat or not? I didn't realize you two had met yet, even I haven't met the princess's new student yet... although I heard her entrance exam was a sight to behold." Seraph voiced in an amused sort of inflection thinking of the stories he had heard just one month prior.

"Come on Seraph, a filly that young getting the princess of the sun's attention at that age with magic most adults would find themselves at a loss to perform has to be a brat." Scylene said this in a way that made it sound like the truth rather than an assumption which it obviously was. She was noticeably more upbeat than she had been just two minutes ago when she thought she was being replaced... well upbeat for Scylene anyway, Seraph had always thought she took herself far too seriously for a mare her age.

Nightshade had just been watching the two unicorns talking back and forth, thinking for a moment that he had been forgotten, until Seraph turned his head back to the young colt one more time looking him straight in the eyes. Seraph's amber-orange ones piercing Nightshade's blue eyes giving a brief appearance as if Seraph was looking into his soul for a brief moment.

"Nightshade, have you ever been to Canterlot?" Seraph asked, when the young pony shook his head no in response Seraph continued, "I think you'll like it, there's a castle with beautiful buildings, houses and shops as far as the eye can see. It is on the side of a cliff making the view of Equestria incredibly spectacular from every vantage point." Truth be told Seraph always thought the city was a marvel in its own right for where it was and how it was constructed but trying to convey that into words just didn't get the point across about the land's majestic capital.

Nightshade seemed to hesitantly consider his options, it was either this or stay out here and slowly starve... or get attacked by somepony or something far worse. He nodded slowly to Seraph but looked over at Scylene who was currently sizing him up in a none too kind manner, as if annoyed by this change of events.

Nightshade was looking at Seraph again and seemed to have a question, "Seraph... what kind of cutie mark is that?" It was boldly stated for someone so young in an unsure situation like the one he found himself in tonight but even so Nightshade was pointing to the cutie mark on Seraph's flank with one of his front hooves.

Seraph chuckled to no pony in particular as he noticed the blank flank on Nightshade, thinking to himself that the curiosity the colt had may just be that, innocent curiosity. Seraph turned his head towards his own flank to view his cutie mark and took a moment to really appreciate something so simple and yet complex as it reflected a pony's natural talent.

The cutie mark was a relatively large bird of a yellow color with waves of red and orange protruding from the edges of the feathers. It was facing outward with its wings spread fully and talons pointed downward at the sides of its own body, clearly in flight.

"That Nightshade, is a phoenix." Seraph did not say anything more, knowing it would elicit a response.

What he did not expect was that Scylene would be the one to ask the next question. "What is a phoenix? I've heard of them but never really studied the magical bird myself... And how is that a cutie mark?" Seraph realized he had never explained his cutie mark to Scylene or anyone other than the princesses, not that were still alive anyway.

"One day I'll tell you both if the time is right... just not tonight." Seraph didn't sound angry but he was still making it clear that this discussion was off-limits, at least for now. "Anymore questions you two?" Both Scylene and Nightshade shook their heads, unable to come up with anything else for the moment.

"Good, we'll head to the train station together... and when we get there we'll figure out where we go from here." Seraph stated as he looked from Nightshade to Scylene before taking the first steps on the path once more leading the group, which seemed to follow him in silence.

Seraph knew he was not good with children, he just didn't have that parental instinct anymore... bad memories sprang to life for just a moment before he locked them away once more to the recesses of his mind trying not to dwell on the past if he could avoid it. There were few alternatives available right now and time was short, they had to get going before dawn arrived if they were going to make the train.

Seraph looked up at the moon one last time that night, seeing the image of the mare on the moon glowing as it had for the last nine-hundred and eighty-seven years since Princess Luna's banishment. He missed her council, she was far better at handling situations than he was when it came to children... although she usually scared them away before they could see through her masked personality. He smiled to himself at the thought of Luna frightening the two young ponies next to him, things would have been so much easier.

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2 - Fifteen Years Later

_Author's Note: Thank you to those who have taken the time to read the first chapter already and my first reviewers!_

_Happy Holidays to all and enjoy chapter two._

Vesper Guardian

Chapter 2

Fifteen Years Later

The military barracks of the Royal and Vesper guards in Canterlot's castle were relatively quiet, nothing very out of place for this particular area. Most of the troops were either asleep at this late hour of the night or taking up their normal positions throughout the castle or the city if they hadn't been assigned elsewhere in Equestria.

The dimly lit hallways were a place of solace for the commander of the Vesper Guard. Seraph had a habit of aimlessly walking through this section of the castle at all times of the night when he was not tasked to be somewhere else, handling something that required the full attention of his forces. He had the added advantage of knowing the secret passageways hidden throughout this lesser traveled section of the castle. Only those within either of the guard squads were permitted to travel through this heavily fortified section unless somepony or other creature had either the princess of the sun's or moon's permission, similarly the Commander of the Vesper Guard or Captain of the Royal Guard could issue that clearance to an individual.

Seraph had only once given that permission to an outsider and it had been fifteen years since that had happened. A young colt from Phillydelphia, an orphan, had returned with Seraph and Scylene that night to the castle after a long day of traveling by train. Nightshade was far too young to even be considered as a recruit for the Vesper Guard at the time, Scylene was twice his age and was only recognized as part of the guard back then because Seraph himself had taken her on as his student.

The memory of Nightshade's first night in Canterlot was memorable for nearly everyone as most of the guards in either squad had performed as double take when they saw a child so young accompanying the Vesper Guard's own commander through the barracks. It had taken them a week or so to get used to Scylene as it was, filly's weren't common in the guard squads and to be honest were a rare sight at any age but most of the guards accepted that for Seraph to take on a student there must have been a good reason. When Seraph filed the paperwork to grant this colt child access to his guard's wing of the barracks, a decision Seraph had come to long before the train ever arrived in Canterlot from Phillydelphia, it had created enough of a commotion that even Celestia herself had visited him that week to discuss the matter.

He had been able to assure the princess of the sun that this was solely a gesture of good will on his part to a pony in need. Seraph knew the princess had seen through his story to some degree but she didn't seem able to discern his true motivations for this informal adoption as it were. He believed that the only reason Celestia agreed to this unusual arrangement was that she felt a sense of obligation to nurture one of her subjects that had fallen into such a terrible series of events. Whether she was contemplating Nightshade's predicament or Seraph's he never did quite decipher, she was nearly as good at hiding her intentions as he was.

Nevertheless, Seraph moved forward after that day raising Nightshade while handling his duties as the Vesper Guard's leader. It had not been easy, he had ensured that Nightshade was never treated any kinder than Scylene had been for months before his arrival. Seraph didn't want this child to become attached like a son, or daughter in Scylene's case, as it would only complicate things further. Zecora's prediction was the driving force behind this decision and he had made certain that neither Nightshade nor Scylene had ever been told this one final secret... how could he place that burden on anypony so young.

Seraph observed Nightshade's development over the years, watching him grow into a stallion under the tutelage of various Canterlot residents who had taken an interest in the young one's education. Pegasus ponies like Nightshade were at a clear disadvantage in Canterlot versus unicorns since the city was home to far more of them than the cloud dwelling variety who would find Cloudsdale more suitable. Apparently many of the Canterlot "elite" had taken a liking to him while he wandered through the city, unknowingly being followed by either Seraph or Scylene themselves the majority of the time.

It had taken a while but Scylene did warm up to the newcomer's arrival, likely due to the fact that Seraph hadn't replaced her as she was so certain of that fateful night. Occasionally, Seraph caught the two together talking about their day or something trivial in their quarters, which was in stark contrast to the dead silence and glares Scylene had originally offered to Nightshade throughout the train ride back home. If Seraph hadn't known any better, the two almost started behaving amicably enough to be kind of like a brother and sister.

There was one major problem with this whole situation, Seraph had observed some of the traits on Nightshade's face during his interactions with everypony from the other guards to the citizens of the city and even Scylene. Based on Seraph's own instinct and experience... the child was putting on a performance for the benefit of everyone else. Masks were a specialty Seraph knew all too well, he wore one nearly everyday himself, it was a result of tragedy and pain that forced him to behave like nothing was wrong in front of others.

It took Seraph about two years to weigh his options with Nightshade but eventually he did confront the problem he was so familiar with.

_Flashback_

_Nightshade had been summoned to Seraph's personal quarters, this personal summons was extremely rare not only for Nightshade but in general as no pony other than Scylene as Seraph's student was generally permitted to this section of the military barracks that the Vesper Guard inhabited._

_The colt was now about 10 years old but far less scrawny then he was that fateful night that he was found in the vacant field on the outskirts of Phillydelphia. His blue eyes were quickly darting from left to right as he walked down the long corridor to an imposingly tall and impressive door. There was a pale blue glow illuminating the ornate wooden door with metal frame, Seraph's personal magic was surrounding the gateway to his living area. Despite being in the company of the commander of the Vesper Guard for some time now, Nightshade was immensely nervous at the thought of being alone with him down in such a secluded area of the castle._

_For weeks Nightshade had suspected something was amiss when he was in the presence of Seraph, those piercing amber-orange eyes of Seraph always bore into his own blue ones as though he was searching for something but lately there were no more stares. Whatever the commander had been looking for he had either found or lost interest in searching for, which had been a relief for Nightshade if it were the latter._

_Nightshade raised one of his front hooves to knock on the glowing door but it opened before he could complete his action. Scylene was standing there looking mildly surprised, she had obviously been leaving at that very moment._

_"What is wrong Nightshade?", she asked thinking there had been a worrisome reason for the younger colt to be standing in front of the private quarters of Seraph after the sun had set for the day. Nightshade offered no response, just a gaping expression as though he was just as confused about the answer._

_Seraph had his back to both of them, clearly standing across the room but decided that he should be the one to respond to Scylene on Nightshade's behalf when he caught the young one's expression in a mirror he had glanced at to his right. "Nothing to worry about Scylene, I asked Nightshade to come to my quarters so that we could talk."_

_It was a simple response but as usual elicited an immediate and suspicious reply from Scylene, "You summoned him?" Her eyes went slightly wider than she had meant for them to have become but it was clear, even after this much time she was still a bit defensive when it came to sharing in Seraph's attention._

_"Yes, there is nothing to worry about Scylene, I just need to talk to Nightshade in private. Please continue with your rounds... and do stop by Twilight Sparkle's tower if you would. Princess Celestia is still a bit uneasy about the transition of her pupil from the school's personal bed chambers to that glorified library. Apparently the thought of that many books nearly made the unicorn faint from excitement and the princess allowed for the transition... albeit hesitantly."_

_Scylene looked excited at the prospect of seeing the young student of the princess of the sun, despite her earlier misgivings about a foal so young gaining Celestia's attention she had slowly developed a minor friendship with the filly. Twilight and Scylene didn't cross paths often but when they did there was always some commotion as they indulged in topics of their studies. In spite of the seven year age gap the two got along quite well._

_"Oh and Scylene, do be careful around the baby dragon... I heard rumors that he was entering that terrible twos phase and you do not want to be around when he has one of his tantrums." Seraph was amused at the look of horror Scylene's face emulated when she realized Spike would be in the tower too. Her fur was still a bit charred from their last encounter, not that she expected the result from burping the baby dragon to cause a small but effective stream of green fire to erupt. She took note not to offer the same niceties to Twilight this time around._

_Scylene nodded nervously, a rare sight for anypony to see her behave with any apprehensiveness as she was generally the first to throw caution to the wind when it came to dangerous situations. Scylene began to walk out of the doorway but caught Nightshade's eye with her own emerald ones, whether it was to offer him some comfort or to deduce the real nature of this private meeting he was about to have with Seraph the young colt couldn't figure out._

_Nightshade watched as Scylene walked down the long hallway he had traveled through to get to this point until she disappeared from sight. "Nightshade, are you going to stand outside the whole time? I promise the door won't bite." Seraph coaxed Nightshade into refocusing his attention back onto the fact that he had never entered the door he had been ready to knock on all those minutes ago._

_Nightshade sheepishly ducked his head as he entered to room finally, his attention quickly became distracted as he stared in awe at the different items adorning the room. He had never been inside of Seraph's personal quarters before but the awe inspiring sight did not leave him unimpressed. For the Vesper Guard's leader this was obviously a personal study but completely unlike what Nightshade had expected._

_It wasn't dark or full of military related weapons at all, if anything it looked like a museum of artifacts and devices illuminated by a large crystal chandelier. Seraph's windowless office had a ceiling that defied explanation, from a quick look it was almost like a stained glass window but it was constantly changing to show views of different areas of Equestria... and beyond as a view of the night sky appeared with stars shining in every direction. Nightshade was able to peel his eyes off of the ceiling to look at Seraph's desk, a bookcase with exceptionally old tomes lining the wall in multiple directions behind it. The desk itself was a large old wooden structure that probably weighed an immense total, how it could ever fit through the doorway without magic seemed impractical._

_On top of the desk was an object that seemed to radiate power, a lone and relatively long feather standing upright within a glass or crystal bell shaped jar. The feather was a yellow color but the unique quality that caught Nightshade's attention was that this feather was on fire and the flames were an equally golden color. How the jar wasn't melting, the desk didn't catch on fire, or the flame never wavered were all mysteries to Nightshade._

_Nightshade's attention was redirected once more as he heard a rather large click, he turned his head towards the door to see it had closed, the pale blue aura surrounding it was still intact. Whatever this spell or enchantment had been seemed to remain._

_Seraph had been watching the colt during his short walk through the room and had permitted Nightshade to take in the sights that seemed to always ensnare the attention of his few visitors. Time however was not in great supply, he had things to attend to tonight and could not afford to waste too much of the evening if it could be avoided._

_"If it eases your concern Nightshade, the enchantment on my door is simply a soundproofing spell so that none outside this room can hear what is said within." Seraph had intentionally brought this fact up to ensure that Nightshade understood whatever was said within these walls stayed right there._

_Nightshade turned his head slowly back towards Seraph, the fiery glow of the flame from the feather was shining on Seraph's face in an eerie way that gave the faint appearance as though Seraph's azure fur were an illusion of light, spectral even._

_"You summoned me... sir, what is it you wanted to see me for?" Nightshade was generally more polite when it came to addressing Seraph and most of his elders with any authority. The smile Nightshade offered to Seraph was the issue, it was fake and only a select few who knew true pain could see through the facade._

_Seraph looked at Nightshade with a piercing look that the colt had seen so many times before, as it was this wasn't exactly abnormal but the statement afterwards was highly disturbing. "Drop the act Nightshade, you and I have been through this song and dance for two years. If you are going to try and deceive everypony else be my guest but we're alone right now... the smile you keep showing off is for the benefit of others but not for me."_

_The effect was immediate, Nightshade looked as though he had been tied to the tracks of the Ponyville Express with the train speeding towards him. The mask he had been so used to putting on each day since his arrival in Canterlot faded and all that was left was a shocked and immensely pained look._

_Seraph seemed satisfied with the result, at least he was getting a look at the real face of Nightshade for once, the one that reflected all of his suffering. "There, that wasn't as hard as it seemed to be was it?" Seraph's voice was slightly more consoling than it was a few moments ago but there was still an edge to it._

_"How long... have you known?" It was a simple question from Nightshade but it more than conveyed his desire to figure out when Seraph had came to this conclusion._

_Seraph once more noted in a two year timeframe that for someone so young this pony, like Scylene, had the ability to focus on details usually overlooked by most. "Since that day we met in the field. How many ponies would have been so calm after Scylene attacked them? The answer is simple... only those hoping for something far worse to come out of it, and when you consider your age that expectation would have been immense to remain so calm."_

_Nightshade was suspicious about where this conversation would lead but had an idea of how to steer this away from him. "And how long have you been wearing your mask sir?"_

_Seraph chuckled to himself, he had foreseen this eventuality before the conversation started. "Well over a thousand years, I've lost count at this point." Nightshade had not expected Seraph to respond, let alone give up the answer so nonchalantly. To Nightshade's knowledge only alicorns live that long, but considering Seraph was a unicorn this seemed so unlikely he merely watched the Vesper Guard's commander face that had been looking back at him._

_"It is true, as unlikely as it seems. Sometimes perception can be a skewed device to those who only believe what they see. I have lived a long life and seen many wondrous and terrible things during it. the latter are the memories that haunt me the most. My family being wiped out was what led me to create my mask, as I believe it is the same cause that developed your facade." Seraph paused to let Nightshade interpret this statement._

_Nightshade's understanding of the situation had been well received, he wasn't pursuing details for how Seraph lost his family and true to his word two years before Seraph had no intention to ask what had happened to Nightshade's parents._

_"What now?" Nightshade's question was brief but one that echoed the meaning for this meeting Seraph had called him in for._

_"That is entirely dependant on what you would like to do. You can go back to acting as though nothing is wrong in front of everypony else if you would like... or you can come with me tonight and learn how to deal with the pain you're feeling right now. The choice is yours to make, I can show you the door but you have to be the one to step through it." Seraph took his cue to wait for Nightshade to decide how he wished to proceed._

_Nightshade took a minute to mull things over, for a child of only ten year of age he seemed to consider options in his head far more than would be expected. Seraph knew this would happen when he decided to summon the child, they had similar personalities even though their pasts were as different as night and day._

_To Seraph's relief the child looked back at him finally making up his mind, "Where are we going tonight?"_

_Nightshade's response was all he needed, Seraph decided that the details could wait a bit longer. "That is a surprise, but it will be worth the wait. We should start off now, fewer ponies should be around at this time of night and we have to make a pretty long trip if we are to return by the morning."_

_As the two began to make their way towards Seraph's door Nightshade turned to him one last time to ask a question that almost made Seraph lose his nerve, "Does the pain ever go away?"_

_There was a long pause, Seraph truly contemplated this answer and decided the truth was the best course of action in a situation like this. "It never goes away completely." Nightshade's head dropped slightly, as if hoping for something better. Seraph continued, "I can tell you this, while it never goes away completely it provides a constant reminder of what was lost so that the memory remains cherished and it does become more manageable. Make the pain something you use to push forward, never let it weigh you down to the point where you cannot move on or it will consume you. After a thousand plus years it has motivated me to be better than I was but I would give anything to go back to before things changed."_

_Nightshade was surprised by the candid response, it wasn't sugar-coating that he had expected from someone like Seraph but a hardened truthful reply. It was this beyond any of Seraph's previous generosity that finally made Nightshade place his trust in Seraph's hooves going forward._

_From this point forward Seraph never called Nightshade a child, both vocally or mentally._

_End of Flashback_

It dawned on Seraph that he had walked quite a distance through the castle reminiscing about the time thirteen years ago when he and Nightshade finally made that important connection. He had traveled into the royal entryway leading to the throne room as he had been requested to do only a bit earlier that day.

A lone white stallion with a mane consisting of a variety of shades of blue was guarding the doorway. It was the relatively new captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armor. Relatively new in that he had only been the captain of that squad for a few years, but to Seraph that was an infinitesimal amount of time in the grand scheme of things.

Shining Armor and Seraph didn't often converse, it was a rare occasion to see them both in the castle at the same time let alone the same room as their duties and visibility were often polar opposites. Both were polite towards each other and respected the role the other performed even if they personally thought of themselves as the more important half of the guard units.

"Late night Shining Armor?" Seraph decided to try a conversational approach.

"Not by your standards I suppose, but duty calls." Shining Armor's response was meant to be at least partially humorous. The smile Shining offered though was a genuine one, Seraph assumed after the events of the wedding and the Crystal Empire situation that the stallion had been enjoying the relative quiet Canterlot was enjoying. It was clear that Shining Armor would prefer being by Princess Cadence's side in the Crystal Empire at this very moment but his duties were to all of the princess's, not just his wife.

"The princess is waiting for you inside. A friendly heads up... she looks a bit unhappy right now." Seraph cringed slightly at Shining Armor's warning.

He had known this wouldn't be just a friendly chat but had hoped to be able to diffuse the situation before things got too far out of hoof. Nodding slightly in appreciation for the warning to Shining Armor, Seraph move towards the doors which opened upon his approach. Two white unicorn Royal Guards had opened the entranceway for Seraph.

He looked at them and their stoic faces, he had taken pity on them at this very moment, despite their mannerisms they were nervous. "Thank you for holding the door... please leave us, this conversation is private." Seraph's request was graciously accepted by the two, taking the order from the Vesper Guard's commander as if Shining Armor had ordered it himself.

The two guards quickly relieved their posts and walked outside to the foyer where Shining Armor was standing. Once across the threshold of royal throne room's entrance Seraph took it upon himself to close the doors with his magic and applied the enchantment he often placed on the doors of his own personal quarters, soundproofing the room with the pale blue aura remaining long after he had begun his journey through the grand arches towards the throne.

As he passed each of the windows and their grand display of the events of old as well as more recent Equestrian momentous occasions, and the defeat of villainous entities both old and new, Seraph took in each of the scenes. The most recent addition bore the image of the young dragon Spike and the crystal heart being delivered to Princess Cadence and the crystal ponies to stop King Sombra's return.

Finally, Seraph arrived at the foot of the throne he had been wandering towards, glancing briefly at the balcony above it to ascertain if anypony else was watching the events about to unfold. Seraph once more turned his gaze, this time to the throne itself and the princess that sat there awaiting his acknowledgment.

Giving a slight bow, Seraph looked up at the teal eyes looking right at his amber-orange ones. "You wished to see me Princess Luna?"

To be continued...


End file.
